this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2023
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No need to use racial terms
You don't even know what "cholo" means.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's a reference to a subculture, not an ethnicity. Though most cholos are probably hispanic, being a 'cholo' isn't down to your racial genetics, it's a subculture.
It meant someone who has indigenous ancestry.. ie, a racial term, since there are many American indigenous ethnicities.
You could argue it doesn't mean that anymore, but do you often hear it being applied to non-Hispanic people?
What do you think it means?
Racializing was unnecessary
Always thought that this was how my fellow Mexicans called their gang members by but hey, thanks for caring about our gang member's feelings.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholo
It's a racial term. You could certainly argue it has been successfully co-opted though.
Cabron! That wiki page clearly states ("gangster" in Mexico). It is a stereotype we use all the time and have no issues with. Same as you using "white men" to describe, I don't know, caucasians? I don't feel offended by it and so shouldn't you on behalf of "mexican looking latino americanos who commit crimes".
Not really the same thing, I think. Though one could certainly note with some interest how all common slurs equating white ethnicities with crime have fallen out of style. In the 1920's I'm sure we'd have had all kinds of ways to call someone an Irish criminal or whatever.
The only one I can even think of is if you called some vaguely Italian crook a goombah or Guido, and the first one would probably just confuse people who didn't watch a bunch of Mafia movies.
And I'm not offended by the usage, just the pretense that this racial term isn't a racial term. Not a huge fan of either intellectual dishonesty or just casual ignorance in general.
Racializing was unnecessary
I can only imagine the comedy-sketch-like exercise that would be you at the station trying to describe the person who robbed you.
You can state facts without using weird racial language
Might depend on the area but neither I nor any other Hispanic or Latino I know see cholo as a racial insult or slur (granted I'm a tiny sample size). It's more of a descriptor than anything in my experience.
Source: am Mexican with native ancestry.